A new study recently presented at the Alzheimer's Association’s annual meeting held this week in Vancouver has uncovered that the disease’s onset can also be detected by a person’s walking style.

Researchers from the Basel Mobility Center have revealed after a survey conducted for four years that changes arising in one’s gait may be a clear hint to the development of dementia and dwindling mental health.

It is being claimed not only after one trial, but after the findings of three trials. In the first trial, Dr. Stephanie Bridenbaugh and colleagues had enrolled some 1,200 elderly clinic outpatients with memory issues.

Tracing and comparing their walking ability to otherwise healthy people, the team found that change in the same with decline in speed was hinting to their mental decline in near future.

Following the same, another study conducted by the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging also discovered that such people with slow pace were at risks of mental illnesses, either mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or Alzheimer's disease.

"Gait should no longer be considered a simple, automatic motor activity that is independent of cognition. They are linked", said Kenichi Meguro. His team from the Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine in Sendai had also found similar results in the third trial.